Apparatus for cleaning the edges of strip material by brushing

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for rounding the edge of an elongated strip of metal, e.g., aluminum. The edge is rounded by rolling and cleaning techniques. Edge-forming rolls rotate on vertical axes and have round grooves which receive an edge of the strip. Edge-thicknesscontrol rolls overlap the edges of the strip and engage the marginal flat surfaces thereof. The edge-thickness-control rolls are mounted on caster supports so that their axes of rotation tend to assume directions at right angles to the motion of the strip. Both the edge-forming rolls and the edge-thickness-control rolls are rotated only by their contact with the moving strip. Rolls are readily demountable. Supports allow rolls to follow lateral movements of strip without stressing it.

717,150 12/1902 Wemlinger 7 Winston-Salem, NC.

APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE EDGIES 01F STRIP MATERIAL BY BRUSIIING 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

ILS. U 115/308 Int. Cl B65111 23/24 Field oISeai-ch 15/77, 102, 306, 307, 308, 309; 72/60; 226/7, 97

ReIei-ences Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 884,313 4/1908 Carpenter 15/77 2,176,339 10/1939 Woolford 15/77 2,204,168 6/1940 Wood 15/308 FOREIGN PATENTS 726,992 2/1966 Canada 271/55 Primary Examiner-Walter A. Scheel Assistant Examiner-C. K. Moore Attorneys-Robert S. Dunham, R. J. Dearborn, P. E.

Henninger, Lester W. Clark, John A. Harvey, Thomas F. Moran and Gerald W. Griffin ABSTRAUI: Apparatus for rounding the .edge of an elongated strip of metal, e.g., aluminum. The edge is rounded by rolling and cleaning techniques. Edge-forming rolls rotate on vertical axes and have round grooves which receive an edge of the strip. Edge-thickness-control rolls overlap the edges of the strip and engage the marginal flat surfaces thereof. The edgethickness-control rolls are mounted on caster supports so that their axes of rotation tend to assume directions at right angles to the motion of the strip. Both the edge-forming rolls and the edge-thickness-control rolls are rotated only by their contact with the moving strip. Rolls are readily demountable. Supports allow rolls to follow lateral movements of strip without stressing it.

7 COMZiIRESSED 2,4

PATENTEDAUB31 |97i SHEET 1 UF 2 A TTORA/EX INVENTORS CONRAD JOHN R. EVERH/J/QT LUCAS x3 nmmmmmmzoo ATENTED M1631 lsn SHFU 2 OF 2 APPARATUS FOR CLEANING Til-IE EDGES OF STRIP MATERIAL IW lBRlUSIilING This application is a division of my copending application Ser. No. 632,758, filed Apr. 21, 1967, now US. Pat. No. 3,479,852, issued Nov. 25, 1969, for Rolling Apparatus For Rounding The Edges Of Strip Metal.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is particularly useful for rounding the edges of flat strips or foils of aluminum which are intended to be sued as electrical windings or capacitors. Such strips or foils are commonly first manufactured by cutting or slitting a wider strip or sheet, and have sharp corners at their edges resulting from the cutting or slitting operation. They may also have occasional slivers or small particles clinging to their edges.

The strip is either interleaved with an insulating material such as paper, or the strip may be coated with an insulating material before it is wound into a coil. A clean, smoothly contoured edge is required to prevent puncture of the insulation by burrs, slivers, etc., to maintain purity of cooling and/or insulating fluid where a fluid-cooled winding is used, and to attenuate corona discharge. In those cases where a liquid insulating coating is applied, a smooth curved surface facilitates a more uniform coating, since if the strip has a sharp corner, the surface tension of the liquid film will reduce the thickness of the coating at that comer.

The prior art teaches the use of edge-forming rolls having rounded grooves engaging the edge of a strip of metal and effective to produce a round contour on the strip. Such rolls, if employed according to the teachings of the prior art, are effective to form the edges, but have a tendency to produce ridges in the flat surfaces of a strip at a point adjacent the edges. Furthermore, the prior art edge-forming rolls have a tendency to squeeze the strip laterally, thereby causing it to buckle in the middle. While this is not important in dealing with strips of substantial thickness and materials of substantial strength, e.g., steel, it presents difficulties when dealing with weaker metals such as aluminum.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises means defining a path for moving strip material, and edge-rolling and edge-cleaning means mounted to cooperate with a strip moving along that path. A strip moving through the apparatus disclosed herein first encounters an edge-cleaning station, where the edges of the strip are brushed by a series of brushes rotating about horizontal axes aligned with the strip, with successive brushes turning in opposite directions. In order to prevent the lateral force of the brushes from buckling the strip, the central portion of the strip passes between the upper and lower plenum chambers which are maintained under pressure, preferably by means of compressed air.

DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and IB, taken together with the left end of FIG. 18 placed at the right end of FIG. IA, form a fragmentary, somewhat diagrammatic elevational view of an edge-rolling apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention, with many parts omitted for the sake of clarity.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. IA; and

FIG. 2A is a sectional view taken along the line 2A-2A of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. IA, IB and 2 These figures illustrate somewhat diagrammatically, a complete edge-rounding apparatus in accordance with the invention.

A coil I of strip aluminum is mounted on a supply reel 2 (shown as a fragment at the left end of FIG. IA). The aluminum passes as a strip 3 from the supply reel 2 to a pinch roll stand 4 of conventional construction, which regulates the tension in the strip. From the pinch roll stand 4, the strip 3 passes through a first cleaning station 5, a rolling station 6, and a final cleaning station 7, which is divided in the illustration between FIGS. 1A and IB. From the final cleaning station, as seen in FIG. IB, the strip 3 passes over a guide roll 8, and thence through an oil spray system 9 and over another guide roll 10 to a takeup reel I I, which is driven by a motor (not shown). That motor is the only drive for the moving strip, and all rolls are rotated only by their contact with the moving strip.

The principal features: of novelty of the present invention are in the cleaning station 5. The other parts of the apparatus will be only briefly described.

The pinch roll stand 4 comprises a rubber-faced roll I2 and a steel-faced roll I3. The strip 3 is pinched between the two rolls. The steel-faced roll drives a pneumatic, water-cooled brake generally indicated at Ml, the drive being through pulleys and a belt I5. The brake torque is adjustable by means of a bellcrank lever 16, which acts on a pneumatic load cell I7. The longitudinal tension on the strip 3 as it passes through the cleaning station 5, the rolling station 6 and cleaning station 7 may be set and controlled by the brake I4.

The strip 3 passing through the cleaning station 5 passes between opposed rows of rotary brushes I8 turning on horizontal axes extending at right angles to the direction of movement of the strip. Between the brushes, the central portion of the strip passes between upper and lower plenum chambers 19 and 20 which are connected by suitable conduits 21 to a source of compressed air. The edges of the plenum chambers where they contact the strip 3 are faced with nylon or other suitable material as shown at 22 so that the chambers do not mar or scratch the strip surface. Air is continuously leaking between the strip and the facings 22.

Any tendency of the strip to buckle within the chambers I9 and 20 is opposed by the pressure in those chambers. Furthermore, the air leaking between the strip and the lateral facings 22 produces a frictional drag on each margin of the strip, acting outwardly. The opposing frictional drags tend to maintain the strip under lateral tension, thereby further opposing the tendency to buckle.

The entire cleaning and rolling apparatus shown in FIG. IA, including the precleaning station 5, the rolling station 6 and that part of the final cleaning station 7 which appears in FIG. IA, is mounted on a platform 23 having on its under surface downwardly projecting saddles 24 which rest on laterally extending rails 25. The platform 23 may be driven along the rails by means of a pair of lead screws 26 (FIGS. 2 and i) which are driven by a chain 27 connected through suitable drive mechanism to a reversible motor 28. The motor 26 is controlled by edge feelers 29, which appear at the left end of FIG. 2. The feelers 29 normally have a small clearance from the edge of the strip. If either feeler is contacted by the strip edge, a lateral movement of the strip is indicated, since the strip is of substantially constant width. The contacted feeler 29 actuates the motor 26, to drive the lead screws 26 in a direction to terminate contact between the edge of the strip and the feeler 29, whereupon operation of the motor is discontinued. Thus, the entire cleaning stations and the rolling station are moved laterally and kept in alignment with the strip, so that substantially no stress can be placed on the strip due to a change in its lateral position.

At the end of the cleaning station 5, the strip passes between two opposed fluid-operated edge cleaners III. In the rolling station 6, the strip first passes between a pair of edgethickness-control rolls 32 and thence passes through three rolling station sections, each indicated by numeral 33.

Upon entering the final cleaning station 7, the strip first passes through a second pair of fluid-operated cleaning devices 31 and then passes between an array of rotary brushes 34, rotating on vertical axes. One set of brushes 34 is located above the strip and the other set below the strip. After passing the brushes 34, the strip passes another pair of fluid-operated cleaning devices 31 and thence passes into the final sectionof the cleaning station 7, which appears in FIG. 1B and consists of upper and lower sets of brushes 35 rotating on horizontal axes and engaging the flat surfaces of the strip.

After leaving the final cleaning station 7, the strip passes another fluid-operated cleaning device 31, and then over guide roll 8, through oil spray system 9, and over guide roll to takeup reel 1 1.

1 claim:

1. Apparatus for cleaning the edges of strip metal, comprismg:

a. means defining a path'for longitudinally moving metal strip;

b. an edge-cleaning station extending for a substantial distance along said path;

c. brush means located substantially throughout the length of said station and engaging the opposite edges of the passing strip to clean said edges; wherein the improvement comprises:

d. antibuckle means at said cleaning station and acting upon the wide surfaces of the strip, said antibucklemeans comprising: l. a pairof plenum chambers, one above and one below the strip between said brush means, both chambers extending the full length 0fthecleaning station and being open toward the strip and and covering all but'marginal portions of the wide surfaces of the strip, each said chamber having walls in loosely sliding contact with the moving strip; and

.-means for supplying'air under 'superatmospheric pressure to said plenum chambers, said air flowing outwardly of the chambers between the strip and said walls, said outward flow being effective to stress the strip laterally in tension and thereby to oppose any buckling effect whichmay resultfrom lateral forces exerted by the brushes.

2. Apparatus as defined-inclaim l, in which each of the chamber walls' is provided, on its surface contacting the moving strip, with a facing of friction-reducing material.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,601,841 Dated August 31, 1971 Inventor(s) Lucas J. Conrad and John R. Everhart It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Cover Sheet, under "References Cited", the patent to Woolford should read "2,176,239".

Cover Sheet, the following was omitted from the "Abstract":

The cleaning techniques employed include brushing and cleaning with a stream of compressed air. One set of brushes rotates about horizontal axes and engages the edges of the strip. Between these brushes, the strip passes between upper and lower plenum chambers, which are supplied with compressed air and are effective to hold the middle of the strip against buckling. The fluid cleaning apparatus comprises a tube having an open end and diametrically opposite slits through which the edge of the material passes. Compressed air is supplied to the hose and blows away any splinters or particles clinging to the edges. The compressed air cleaning is employed after the rolling or brushing operation. A final cleaning station includes one set of brushes rotatable about vertical axes and engaging the flat surface of the strip and a second set of brushes rotatable about horizontal axes and also engaging the flat surface.

Col. 1, line 10, "sued" should read used Signed and sealed this 25th day of July 1972.

(SEAL) IAttest:

EDWARD M.FLETCH1:;R,JR. ROBERT GUTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents DRM P0-1050 (10-69) uscoMM-Dc 6037B-PB9 U 5 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE I!!!) n-Iln-iil 

1. Apparatus for cleaning the edges of strip metal, comprising: a. means defining a path for longitudinally moving metal strip; b. an edge-cleaning station extending for a substantial distance along said path; c. brush means located substantially throughout the length of said station and engaging the opposite edges of the passing strip to clean said edges; wherein the improvement comprises: d. antibuckle means at said cleaning station and acting upon the wide surfaces of the strip, said antibuckle means comprising:
 1. a pair of plenum chambers, one above and one below the strip between said brush means, both chambers extending the full length of the cleaning station and being open toward the strip and and covering all but marginal portions of the wide surfaces of the strip, each said chamber having walls in loosely sliding contact with the moving strip; and
 2. means for supplying air under superatmospheric pressure to said plenum chambers, said air flowing outwardly of the chambers between the strip and said walls, said outward flow being effective to stress the strip laterally in tension and thereby to oppose any buckling effect which may result from lateral forces exerted by the brushes.
 2. means for supplying air under superatmospheric pressure to said plenum chambers, said air flowing outwardly of the chambers between the strip and said walls, said outward flow being effective to stress the strip laterally in tension and thereby to oppose any buckling effect which may result from lateral forces exerted by the brushes.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which each of the chamber walls is provided, on its surface contacting the moving strip, with a facing of friction-reducing material. 